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The Path to Understanding: Peter Bellars at 3331 Arts Chiyoda |
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| Roger McDonald |
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| Peter Bellars is an Englishman who has been living in Japan since 1989, teaching English and making art. Although many Japanese art fans may not be familiar with his name or works, Bellars is in fact one of the very few non-Japanese to have been part of the Japanese contemporary art scene since the early 1990s (Mario A being another). more... |
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Asakusa Gets Postmodern: The Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center |
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| Michael Pronko |
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| Designing a functional, appealing eight-story building for tourists must not have been an easy task, but the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center combines old and new, functional and aesthetic, urban grit and anime-fantastic, information and relaxation in marvelous ways. Set on a small corner lot in Asakusa across from Kaminarimon gate, perhaps the most tourist-filled place in Tokyo, the new Information Center looks as if it was casually tossed there years ago, and yet projects ready-to-work vitality. more... |
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Hokusai in Obuse |
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| Alan Gleason |
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| Nestled in the fertile Nagano Basin by the banks of the mighty Chikuma River (Japan's longest), Obuse is a historic town whose farmer-merchants flourished during the Edo period (1603-1867). Today it is a tourist mecca with an "old town" area that includes a number of well-preserved Shogun-era wooden and stucco structures, mixed in with the usual hodgepodge of restaurants and souvenir shops that appear antique but are of much more recent vintage. more... |
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